Excrement treating apparatuses which treat excretions with a person with difficulty in walking, a hospitalized patient or a physically handicapped person wearing an excretion receiver have been developed.
One example of a conventional excrement treating apparatus is disclosed in JP-A No. 2005-102979 (Patent Document 1).
The excrement treating apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes: a urine receiver to be worn by a person; a urine tank to store urine, a urine guide tube which guides urine from the urine receiver into the urine tank; a vacuum pump which sucks in urine from the urine receiver through the urine guide tube and stores urine into the urine tank; and a control unit which controls the vacuum pump.
The urine receiver has a urine anti-backflow sheet with funnel-shaped holes between a surface sheet and a urine absorption sheet and a urine sensor between the surface sheet and urine anti-backflow sheet. The urine sensor includes a pair of electrodes which are bonded to an electrode support sheet in parallel with each other with signal lines connected with the electrodes. The signal lines are connected with the control unit.
In the excrement treating apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when urine is accumulated between the pair of electrodes, urination is detected by electricity flowing between the conductive surfaces of the paired electrodes. The urine detection signal is sent to the control unit through a signal line and the control unit activates the vacuum pump. As the vacuum pump is activated, the air pressure in the urine tank goes down, generating a negative pressure at a urine guide hole of the urine receiver and urine is sucked into the urine guide tube by an absorption force due to this negative pressure so that urine is guided into the urine tank and stored there.
Also, another conventional excrement treating apparatus is disclosed, for example, in JP-A No. 2008-8791 (Patent Document 2).
The excrement treating apparatus described in Patent Document 2 includes a excretion receiver to be worn by a person; a urine tank to store urine, a tube which guides urine from a tray provided in the excretion receiver into the tank; a vacuum pump which sucks in urine from the excretion receiver through the tube and stores urine in the tank; and a control unit which controls the vacuum pump.
An excretion sensor provided in the excretion receiver includes two pairs of lead wires (electrodes) which extend in parallel with each other and are inserted between a support and a covering, both waterproof and insulating. The excretion sensor is inserted between various lamination sheets of the excretion receiver. Urine guide holes of the excretion sensor are provided in the urine receiving portion of the excretion receiver and feces guide holes of the excretion sensor are provided in its feces receiving portion. A tray for receiving urine is located below the excretion sensor in the urine receiving portion of the excretion receiver. This tray is connected with the vacuum pump through the tube.
In the excrement treating apparatus described in Patent Document 2, when a person wearing the excretion receiver discharges urine, the urine soaks into the urine receiving portion of the excretion receiver, further flows toward the excretion sensor side, touches the surface of the excretion sensor, and gets into a urine guide hole, causing short-circuiting between one pair of lead wires. As a consequence, a signal for notification of urination is sent from the excretion sensor to the control unit and upon receipt of this signal, the control unit activates the vacuum pump to convey the urine from the tray to the tank.
When the person wearing the excretion receiver defecates, the moisture of the feces soaks into the urine receiving portion of the excretion receiver and flows toward the excretion sensor side, touches the surface of the excretion sensor, and gets into a feces guide hole, causing short-circuiting between the other pair of lead wires. As a consequence, a signal for notification of defecation is sent from the excretion sensor to the control unit and the control unit activates a warning device to notify of defecation.
[Patent Document 1] JP-A No. 2005-102979
[Patent Document 2] JP-A No. 2008-8791